Saw: Legacy
by eternalscrappy
Summary: Years after Jigsaw's death, the games begin again. New and old players return to the nightmare as they attempt to put a stop to the copycat. Note: This story takes place after Saw 3 and does not regard the movies following it as canon.
1. Part 1

Saw: Legacy – Part 1

As the drugs in Gary's system start to wear off he uses all his strength just to lift his heavy eyelids. His eyes begin to focus and adjust to the dim light of his surroundings. Gary then turns around and the cold air in the room forces his arms around his body. Goosebumps begin to rise on his shivering flesh as the short hairs on his arms stand on end.

The confused young man looks around and notices he is standing in front of a cold cement wall in nothing but his underwear.

As the boy begins to turn around he is interrupted by screeching static coming from his side. His head immediately turns and a television mounted to the wall attracts his attention.

As the static clicks off, a white faced doll with beading red eyes is left on the screen. The doll slowly turns his head and stares Gary in his eyes as Gary stairs back. The doll's mouth begins to move and a deep, distorted voice speaks from the television. "Hello, Gary. I want to play a game. All your life you have stepped over others to get what you wanted. It didn't matter who got hurt in the process as long as you succeeded. "Well today I will offer you the chance to live by simply doing what you have been so accustomed to all your life. When this tape finishes you will have one minute to make it to the door at the other end of the room. After that, the door will lock and you will be stuck in here forever. The only problem is instead of stepping over others you will have to step over the objects of my choice I have placed on the ground."

Gary slowly turns around and before him is a long, empty warehouse. The only luminescence that fills the gigantic room is the light that is allowed by the door on the opposite side of the gigantic room.

Gary then looks down and notices that the only section of the floor not covered in sharpened nails and knives standing straight up is the small square of concrete he's standing on.

As Gary stares in shock at the task ahead of him he hears the voice continue on. "Live or die, Gary. Make your choice. And remember…watch your step."

Gary takes several deep breathes before bracing himself and taking his first step onto the sharp floor. His foot sinks into the blades forcing him to scream in pain.

Determined to succeed, Gary grinds his teeth and takes another step. He then tries to walk faster as blood pours out from the souls of his feet. Gary screams out in pain as he continues his way through the room.

When he gets about half way through, Gary looks up and sees the door slowly start to close. "No! No! Wait!"

Gary's brisk walk turns into a jog as he tries to make it to the door in time. The door slams and locks shut as Gary trips and falls face first to the floor. "No!"

Gary's face slams down onto the knives and nails attached the ground. The sharp points of the blades slide into his flesh killing him instantly.

The light then gradually fades out of the room as the dark blood slowly seeps out from within Gary's corpse.

As Detective Matthews pulls up to a warehouse on the north side of the city he immediately sees a crowd of reporters and curious civilians gathered by the building. Cops move the barriers aside as Matthews drives through the police barricade and parks his car. He gets out and is immediately approached by a young officer in uniform. "Hello, Detective."

Matthews begins to walk to the front door of the warehouse. "Hey, Sam. Tell me what you got."

The officer walks with the detective reporting to him on the way. "The warehouse has been abandoned for nine months. There are windows high up on the walls that have been cemented shut and a back door used for truck shipments which was also sealed. There was no light allowed into the building except from the small front door."

"What about the victim?"

"No I.D. yet. White male. Early twenties. It appears he was running for the door that was on a lock and timing mechanism. We had to get a tech team in here to open it up."

As they reach the door, Matthews stops and turns towards the officer. "So what killed him?"

"I think you better see for yourself, sir. And don't step inside. Just look."

Confused, Matthews turns the corner to look into the warehouse and his jaw drops at the sight before him. The officer remains speechless as well and stares at the ground. His concentration is broken by Matthews's words. "Call the FBI."

Vanessa and her boyfriend Brian walk through the campus of their university holding each other's hands. They both have smiles on their faces as they approach the rest of their friends Simon, Janie and Chris.

Vanessa and Brian let each other go to greet their friends. Vanessa gives a hug to Janie. "Hey, Janie."

"Did you study for the physics test?"

"No. Too busy writing the research paper for architecture."

"Won't matter. You'll probably ace it like you always do."

Brian wraps his arm around Vanessa's shoulder and brings her close to him. "Yup, that's my little genius."

As the group laughs together Simon notices an all black Suburban with tinted windows pulling up to them. "Who the hell is this?"

The rest of the group turns to look as the door of the truck opens up. A man dressed in a suit steps out holding the door open. "Vanessa Denlon, please come with me."

Brian approaches the man to defend his girlfriend. "Hey man, you can't just tell someone to get in a car."

The man reaches inside his jacket and the kids freeze in momentary fear. But they then relax when he pulls out an FBI badge. "I don't want to discuss the nature of our business in front of your friends, Miss Denlon. Please, get in the car."

Vanessa steps forward and puts her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It's ok. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll call you when I get back."

Brian reluctantly gives her a hug. "Ok, be careful though."

As she gets in the car and it drives away Brian turns and walks back to his friends. "What would the FBI want with, Vanessa?"

The truck pulls up to the police station and Vanessa as well as the FBI agent step out. The agent leads Vanessa through the crowd of reporters and inside the building. The first thing that catches the young woman's eye is her father sitting in the corner of the lobby. "Dad?"

He stands up and walks over to her. "Hey, pumpkin. How ya doin?"

She gives her father a hug and then lets go to look him in the face. "What are you doing here? I didn't think I was going to see you until after finals."

Detective Matthews walks out from inside his office. "Allow us to explain, Ms. Denlon. Come into my office and take a seat."

Vanessa follows the detective into the room and sits down with her father. Detective Matthews pulls a chair up to his desk and then drops some papers on his desk over a file that reads Cramer: CLASSIFIED. "I know this is a hard topic for you to bring up. But your father wanted to bring you in for your protection."

"Protection? Protection from who?"

"Yesterday a body was discovered…and the way in which he died fits the M.O. of John Cramer, the Jigsaw Killer from ten years ago."

Vanessa's face grows long as memories rush through her head. "But…but he can't be…"

"Yes, I know. Jigsaw was killed as you are well aware of and should know more than anyone. But still, given the history your family has with the case I believe that it's the best thing if we kept and eye on you and your father, even if it is just a copycat."

Vanessa turns and looks up towards her father. "Dad, but…"

"It's going to be ok, honey. It is just a precaution."

Matthews begins to talk again. "We aren't going to stalk you or anything like that. The FBI is here and is working on the case alongside myself. We are going to catch this guy. You can also continue on with your normal life, but I feel it's for the best if I put one of my men with you as a bodyguard."

Vanessa reluctantly nods her head. Matthews smiles and waves over Officer Chester. Chester hurries over and walks into the room. "Yes, Detective."

"Chester, the girl needs someone to watch over her and since you were the first on the scene of the Hummell murder consider it your obligation."

The name shoots through Vanessa's head. "Hummell murder?"

Matthews turns his attention towards the concerned girl. "Yes, I forgot to tell you. The body we found yesterday was that of Gary Hummell. I'm sorry."

"Oh my God."

Vanessa's jaw drops and her dad holds on to her. "I think we need some time alone."

Matthews nods his head and walks away with Chester. As they are walking away Chester turns towards the girl and then back towards his superior. "Sir, you want me to just stay with her and make sure she's safe."

"Exactly. Just make sure her father feels she is safe so we can get all the cooperation from him we need."

"But why, sir? What makes them so important?"

"Haven't you read Steven's book. That's Jeff Denlon, the man who killed Jigsaw."

Several hours later, one female reporter stands in front of the police station and brings the microphone in front of her face. She then takes a deep breathe before speaking to the cameraman filming her. "Hi. This is Jennifer Retlaw reporting from outside the 15th Precinct. It was made public today that Gary Hummell, a student at the State University, was killed yesterday in a style that mimics the infamous 'Jigsaw Killings' that took place just over a decade ago.

"For the few of you who don't know, John Cramer, the killer known as 'Jigsaw,' killed his victims by setting them up in games where they had to overcome tremendous tasks to survive. Jigsaw finally met his demise at the hands of Jeff Denlon who beat Jigsaw at his own game by killing him and finding the key to rescue his daughter from the locked room that was meant to be her tomb. Unfortunately, in the end Jigsaw had the last laugh because Jeff's wife was also met her demise from Jigsaw's scheming.

"Jigsaw's legend grew tremendously following the summer after he was killed when Ryan Steven published his book 'Jigsaw: Puzzler of Life.' The book instantly reached top of the charts and into the homes of millions. Steven went into depth on the philosophy the killer brought to what he called his 'test subjects' and the way the killings took place.

"The detective leading the investigation alongside the FBI, Detective Daniel Matthews, intimately knows the workings of Jigsaw himself and is one of the few surviving players from his games. He is also the son of Det. Eric Matthews, who himself met his end at the hands of one of Jigsaw's games. But the details on whether or not this is a true copycat has yet to be disclosed and…."

The reporter is cut off when the crowd uproars from seeing Vanessa and Officer Chester walking out the door. The two immediately head to Chester's civilian car and drive off before the mob can catch up.

Inside Officer Chester's car, Vanessa tries to spark up a conversation with her so called bodyguard. "I'm Vanessa."

"I know who you are."

"I know you know. But I like to introduce myself to people."

A smile cracks across Chester's face as he tries to keep his eyes on the road and not on the attractive girl sitting next to him. "I'm Sam."

"Well, Sam, I hope you are taking me back to the university because while I was holed up in the precinct I missed a physics test."

"Don't worry about it. The chief called your professor. It was all taken care of."

"Wow. Remind me to call you guys during finals."

Sam stops at a light before the onramp to the highway and turns back to Vanessa. "Are you hungry? We could stop for something to eat before going back to your dorm."

Flattered, Vanessa smiles slightly and looks at the cop out of the corner of her eye. "Officer Chester, did you just ask me out?"

The speechless cop puts his eyes back on the road. "Uhhh…well…I was just asking…"

"I know. I know. Calm down."

The two share a small laugh as Chester pulls up the on ramp and onto the highway. After several minutes of no conversation, Sam breaks the silence. "If you don't mind me asking, who was Gary Hummell to you?"

"He was just one of my classmates. Gary was one of those kids who was really determined to succeed. He wasn't a bad kid, just overly ambitious."

"You were friends with him?"

"I was friendly with him. But we never hung out."

Vanessa then looks at the cop with a slight smirk on her face. "Am I being interrogated, Officer Chester?"

"Oh, no. I was just…"

Vanessa starts to giggles and cuts him off. "I'm kidding. Jeez. You need to relax. Are you always this uptight?"

"Sorry. I've never had an assignment like this before. It's a little new to me."

"Well I know what will lighten you up."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"Ice cream."

Sam looks over to the girl and sees the overly exaggerated smile on her face. He finally then smiles and pulls off the highway. "Ok. Fine."


	2. Part 2

Saw: Legacy – Part 2

Back at the station Matthews sits down at his desk with Jeff still on the other side. Daniel shuffles around the papers on his desk like he is looking for something. He then yells out to someone outside the room. "Johnson, get in here!"

An officer in uniform runs into the room. "Yes, sir?"

"Have you seen the Cramer file?"

"Yes, sir. It's on the floor over here."

Johnson bends down, picks up the file and drops it on the desk. Matthews picks it up and places it in one of the drawer's in his desk. "How'd it get over there. Anyway that reminds me, have you gotten in touch with Debra Jenkins yet, Johnson?"

"No, detective. We have tried getting in touch with her but there is no answer. The FBI has offered to send a man over to her house, but they won't be there until tomorrow." "Ok, Johnson. That is all."

The officer leaves the room and Matthews looks up to Jeff, who is bending over with his head buried in his hands. "Stressed, Mr. Denlon?"

"My daughter could be the next target of a madman copycatting a madman. Would you be stressed?"

"I can assure you that Officer Chester is more than capable of the job."

"I hope so…"

As Jeff finishes his sentence, someone walking into the station catches the corner of his eye. He turns his head and squints trying to make out who it is. When he finally realizes who the man is Jeff runs out of the office and tackles the man to the ground.

Detective Matthews runs after him and pulls Jeff off of the man along with several other officers. After the skirmish is broken up, one of the officers holds Jeff back as he continues to fight through. "You bastard, Steven! I fucking hate you!"

An officer picks Ryan Steven up off the ground. Steven smiles and brushes himself off. "Mr. Denlon, so good to see you."

"You fucking prick! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Well since I am considered somewhat of an expert on the Jigsaw killings, the FBI called me in to assist on the case."

Jeff begins to calm down as the officer lets him go. "Stay away from me and my daughter, Steven. You piece of shit."

Matthews puts his arm on Jeff's back and leads him back into the office. "Come on. Just relax. Everyone knows he's scum."

As Jeff heads back into the room Steven yells out to him. "Yeah, Denlon. It's not like I'm gonna write a book about this or anything."

As Jeff disappears into the office, Steven just walks deeper into the station with a smile on his face.

Late into the night, Officer Sam Chester sits in his civilian car outside of Vanessa's dorm room. He takes a deep breathe in and sips his coffee while listening to the soft playing music from his radio.

Suddenly, a car pulls down the street and parks in back of Chester's car. Sam slowly moves his hand down to his holster and turns the radio off with the other. But he eases off the handle of the gun when Detective Matthews steps out of the car.

Daniel makes his way over to the passenger side of Sam's car and gets inside. "Here. I thought you could use a late night snack."

Matthews hands Sam a brown paper bag filled with food. Sam takes the bag and places it on the dashboard. "Thanks. You could have just not assigned me to looking after the girl. That would have been a lot easier."

"Hey, you attached yourself to the case by being the first one on the scene of the Hummell murder. By the way, how did you stumble onto that crime scene anyway?"

"The building is on my normal patrol route and I noticed something was out of place so I thought I'd check it out. When I got closer I realized the door was sealed shut. You know the rest of the story."

"Hmmm…we got lucky then. That boy could have stayed in there for months and nobody would have known. My dad always said that being a cop is a combination of fearlessness and luck."

"I have heard he was a great man. I wish I could have met him."

"He was. The last time I spoke with him was the day before he was killed. We had a fight and…let's just say I've been regretting it ever since."

Matthews leans back in his chair and lets his head fall against the headrest. After a brief moment of silence Sam speaks. "Is that why you became a cop?"

"I guess. I never really thought about it."

Chester takes another sip of his coffee. "I do what I do now because of my father. I was never really close to him and…my mother never spoke about him either. They were divorced and my mother really wanted to separate us from him as much as possible. I've heard stories and…let's just say it's his legacy that brought me to this point in my life."

"I hear ya."

The two relax for a moment and take in the starry night's sky. Matthew's eventually opens the handle to the door and steps out. "It's late. I better get home and get some rest. I know the Bureau is going to have a ton of paper work from Steven's interrogation tomorrow."

As the detective starts to walk away Sam yells back out to him. "Wait. Steven's interrogation?"

Matthews comes back to the car and sticks his head in the window. "Yeah. They have Ryan Steven down at the station right now and asking him questions about his investigation into Jigsaw for his book."

"Interesting. Well see ya later."

"Bye."

Matthews casual walks over to his car, gets in and drives off into the darkness of the night.

Back at the station, Ryan Steven sits anxiously inside one of the buildings interrogation rooms. The dark room has one table with several chairs around it, which Steven is sitting at, and a long mirror against the wall that is obviously one way glass. Steven looks around and trembles.

He thought he was brought in as an expert on the Jigsaw killings that took place ten years ago. But by the way he has been treated he feels more of like a suspect than a consultant.

After about a half hour of sitting alone in the cold, bland room, the door finally opens and two clean cut FBI agents enter the room. As soon as the two men come in plain sight, Steven yells out his complaints. "Hey! What the hell am I doing here? I thought I was here as a guest! Why the fuck am I in this room for criminals?!"

The first agent walks over to the table, takes out a chair and sits down. "Relax, we apologize. We were too busy to question you and we had no other place for you to wait. We couldn't have you wait in the station because if you heard something it would have had an affect on your expertise."

"Well if you want me 'expertise' you need to get me out of this shit hole."

The second agent leans against the wall in a relaxed manner. "Chill out, Ryan. You"re getting an all paid vacation straight out of Uncle Sam's pocket. What do you have to worry about?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Steven leans back in his chair obviously showing that he is upset. The first agent leans forward onto the table and puts his hands together. "So we have a couple of questions about John Cramer's past to ask you."

"What do you need to know? You have a file on him."

"Yes, we have his file, but the file doesn't tell us personal details which you have discovered from research for your book."

Steven takes a deep breathe in. "Ok. Shoot."

The second agent leans off of the wall and puts his hands in his pockets. "Tell us about Debra Jenkins."

"Debra is Cramer's ex-wife. They divorced several years before he was diagnosed with brain cancer."

"And you interviewed her for your book?"

Steven scrunches his brow at the question. "Uhhh, yeah? Why is this important?"

The first agent takes out a pen and paper. "No reason. Now, how did you find her? We are looking for her now and she hasn't been the easiest person to locate."

"They changed their name when it was made public that Cramer was Jigsaw."

The first agent write something down while asking his next question. "Did you fuck her?"

Steven jumps out of his chair outraged. "What the fuck is this shit?!"

The second agent however walks forward noticing something Steven had just said. "Wait, what do you mean by 'they?' "

Steven ignores both of the men's questions and points his finger at the first agent who is still sitting down. "Fuck you!"

The second agent walks forward and leans down at the table. "Ryan, relax. Calm down. You said 'they.' Tell me, what you meant by 'they?' "

"No! No more questions. Get me the fuck out of here." The first agent puts his pad away, stands up and walks out of the room. "Fucking prick. Go back to your five star hotel."

After the first agent leaves the room, Steven and the second agent stare at each other for a second before the agent breaks the silence. "We need your help, Ryan."

"You can fuck off with his 'good cop/bad cop' shit. I'm outta here."

Steven walks around the table and out of the room.

Inside of Detective Matthew's apartment, the workaholic detective sits on his couch in his living room fiddling with millions of folders, papers and photographs. In front of him is a table that has even more folders filled with papers on it. In front of the table is his television which is turned off.

Matthews, while wearing his normal bed wear of a t-shirt and boxers, had just gotten out of bed when he couldn't sleep and decided to get some work done.

Suddenly without warning, Matthews's television clicks on to static. Daniel looks around for a second confused. Then finally he walks over to it and turns it off.

After he sits down, several seconds pass before Matthews picks up the file from his table that says CLASSIFIED: Cramer. The detective opens up the file and looks inside. Immediately he notices the file is a lot smaller than it was when the FBI handed it to him. Matthews flips through the papers and sees that some of them are gone. "What the hell?"

Daniel's concentration is broken when the television clicks on to static again. Matthews looks around confused once more. "Fucking hell."

After he is done looking around, Matthews is about to get up when the screen suddenly switches from static snow to Jigsaw's trademark doll. The doll's beady red eyes stare through the television screen and paralyze the detective in his tracks. Matthews, as if in a trance, sits down in the sofa cushion and back into the couch. After several seconds of silence the doll finally speaks. "Good Evening, Detective Matthews. You can go ahead and look around, but I can assure you I am nowhere to be found. It's ok. You don't need to worry. I just want to play a game.

"Ten years ago you survived a game set up by my predecessor. I congratulate you on that. Unfortunately, your father wasn't as lucky. And from what I've heard, the last time you saw him alive you two didn't exchange the friendliest of words."

For a moment, Daniel remembers the day he last spoke with his father. His father's last screams to him, "just go," rushes through his head.

After allowing Daniel a brief moment to remember the doll continues on. "Ever since that day you have followed in his footsteps. You became a detective to make him proud, to try and accomplish something in your life. But still, on the inside, you burn with revenge for the man you hold responsible for taking your father from you.

"Well you can't exact your vengeance on a dead man, but I will give you the next best thing: me. I have taken up the role of the man you blame for your father's death and you can take your revenge on me if you so wish. All you have to do is follow the rules. Now the rules of the game are simple: find me…whatever way you can. If you do that and my identity becomes clear to you, then I will allow you to do what you will with me.

"Just remember to be guided by your training and not by revenge and I'm sure you'll succeed. Good luck, detective…and let the game begin."

Ryan Steven wakes up when the stream of water flowing through the stone cracks on the ground reaches his face. Steven opens his eyes slowly and looks around. He notices he is in a room with all stone walls. The floor is wet and water slowly drips through cracks in the ceiling.

Steven sits up and notices the dim lit room is only illuminated by several candles placed around the chamber. He also realizes he is wearing nothing but his underwear. But the main thing that sticks out to Steven is a metal contraption strapped to his neck. The contraption contains a round circular disk which his neck is in the middle of.

Steven tries to turn his neck but the edge of the disk is as sharp as can be and slices away the skin. Steven moves his hand up the contraption and notices a lot of gears and mechanical parts at the base of the device by his collarbone. "No. No! Why?! Why me?!"

Steven's screams are interrupted by a television turning on behind him. Steven slowly turns around while being careful not to move too fast and watches the doll on the screen. "Hello, Ryan. I want to play a game. Even though you admired the work of my predecessor, I believe he would agree with me when I say you are not worthy of the life you have been given. You do what you want and exploit whoever you want without remorse or regret for your actions. You are the most cutthroat reporter in world…which given your current situations seems ironic.

"But I am willing to allow you to atone for your sins tonight. The contraption strapped to your neck is fitted with a polarized device that works in conjunction with magnets inside the walls. If you move out of place the magnetic force will be altered triggering the springs in the device. Then the sharp blades of the disc will collapse in and…well you know what happens then.

"All you have to do is stay where you are and not move. In several hours a septic crew will move through this area and there is no doubt they will hear your screams. But can someone with such a 'magnetic' personality as yourself convince them to help you? Only time will tell. Live or die, Ryan. Make your choice."

Steven tries to curse the television when it clicks off while at the same time trying not to move. "You're not Jigsaw, you fucking fake! You're nothing! I've done nothing wrong! Get me outta here! Help!"

Steven screams for help but all he hears is his echo through the dungeon like room. Steven finally gives up yelling and talks to himself while looking for a way out of the room. "Think, Ryan, think. You know these situations better than anyone. Get yourself out of this. Who could be doing this to you? Think you, moron, think."

Finally a thought clicks into his head when he remembers the interrogation he underwent at the police station. "Oh my God. That's it."

Steven lifts his hand up to his neck and slides his finger against the blade. Blood drips out of his finger and Steven begins to write a message on the floor using his blood as ink.

As he does this a small rat slips through a crack in the corner of the wall. While he continues to write what he believes to be his final words, the rat slowly makes his way closer and closer to the unsuspecting Steven.

When Steven is about to finish the last word of his message, the rat brushes up against Steven's foot. Steven jumps backwards in shock and fear. "What the…"

But his sentence is suddenly cut off when the sharp edge of the disk collapses in and decapitates Steven's head by the neck. As Steven's headless body hits the floor, blood slowly flows from the stump on his neck and covers the message Steven had just written on the ground.


	3. Part 3

Saw: Legacy – Part 3

After lying in bed and staring at the ceiling all night long, Matthews enters the station the following day. The detective is clearly oblivious to how busy the station is around him and immediately heads to his office. He sits down and leans back in his chair while rubbing his hands down his face. "God damn it, Daniel. What have you gotten yourself into?"

Just then, Officer Johnson opens the door and sticks his head into the room. "Detective Matthews, we…"

But Matthews cuts him off. "Johnson, I want you to contact the FBI and ask them when the next time they are interrogating Steven. A lot of information from Cramer's file is missing."

Johnson put his head down for a second then looks up. "That's what I came to tell you. Steven is dead. He was the next victim. The FBI is asking for you to check out the crime scene."

Matthews stands up, puts his head down and walks out of the room. "Great. Just great."

Matthews walks through the dungeon like halls of the city's sewers and already hears the crime scene investigators working away in the back room. As he walks in the room, the first thing that catches his eye is the amount of blood spilled out across the floor. The second thing the detective noticed at the source of the blood was Steven's body with an odd mechanical device where the head should be. And lastly, Daniel sees the television at the far end of the room with Steven's head leaned up against it.

Matthews walks around the pool of blood and asks the investigators. "What've you got?"

One of the men stands up and takes off his gloves. "Hey, detective. We have found a couple of things. The device strapped to his collarbone is very complex. It corresponds to certain magnets on the outside of the room. If he moved the force on the magnets would change and…"

The investigator moves his hand across his neck to form the universal sign of a beheading. Matthews crouches down next to the body and notices the jigsaw piece cut from the Steven's back. "Do we have any prints? Fibers? Anything?"

"No. Nothing. This guy is like a ghost."

Matthew's stands up. "Damn it."

"But we have found something."

The detective takes a deep breathe and turns towards the man talking to him. "What is it?"

"Underneath the pool of blood we found a very thin raised layer that has shape and form. We don't know what it is yet, but we are getting close."

Matthew's phone suddenly rings and he walks off to answer it. "I want whatever is underneath the blood. Keep working on it. Hello?"

On the other line is one of the FBI agents. "Matthews, I just got a call from the agents who went to Debra Jenkins home. They say she is nowhere to be found."

Matthews takes a deep breathe in. "She must have skipped town. Have them look for clues as to where she went. I will meet you back at the station."

The detective hangs up the phone and takes one last look at Steven's body before leaving the room.

Several hours later, Vanessa watches her father as he talks to Matthews from a chair in the lobby. Her dad seems to be in deep conversation with the detective and she is rather curious as to what they are talking about. Her focus is broken when Officer Chester speaks form behind her. "You look in deep thought."

Vanessa snaps out of her trance and turns to the cop. "Oh sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for interrupting you. You looked so peaceful."

Vanessa leans back in the chair and rubs her hands against her face. "I'm just worn out from being interviewed and wondering what my dad is going through in there."

"I'm sure he's just fine."

After a pause of several seconds, Vanessa turns to look back at her dad and Sam interrupts her thought again. "You really care about him don't you?"

Vanessa turns back around. "My dad?"

"No. Detective Matthews. Of course your dad."

Vanessa smiles and leans forward. "Of course I care about him. He's my only family."

Vanessa takes a deep breath and leans back slowly: "When my brother died…everything went to hell. My dad started drinking and my mom started to cheat on him. Our family was falling apart. And then…"

"And then Jigsaw came along." Vanessa looks down and remembers the day she was taken and locked in Jigsaw's workshop. "It was a defining moment in my life that day. I didn't know what was happening or what was going to happen. The only thing I knew is that I was scared and every breathe I took I had to struggle harder and harder."

"Did he help you?"

Vanessa turns to Sam confused. "Excuse me?"

"Jigsaw. He believed people who have survived his games deserve to be alive. What about you? Do you feel more alive now than you would have?"

Vanessa takes another deep breathe in and looks Chester dead in his eyes. "Before my dad rescued me I was on the brink of death. When he found me I was lying on the ground and I could practically see my life leaving my body. When he opened that door…all I saw was light and the smile on his face. His wife…my mother had just gotten her head blown off and he had a smile on his face.

"I couldn't understand why until a month later when he left the house clean shaven wearing a shirt and tie. He had found a job. A good job at that and saved enough money for me to go to college. Did he help me? I guess it's a matter of opinion."

Chester stares deep into Vanessa's eyes and Vanessa stares back at him. The moment seems like eternity to them and for a moment they feel a connection that neither one of them understood.

But the connection was broken when Vanessa hears her father's voice. "Hey, buttercup."

Vanessa stands up and gives her father a hug while Matthews walks over to Chester. "You better get her home. We are done here for the day."

Chester nods his head and takes Vanessa out of the station. Matthews's phone rings and excuses himself from Jeff. "Excuse me, Jeff. I have to take this. Hello."

On the other end is one of the FBI agents. "Matthews, we found Debra Jenkins she is in the city."

"Good. Bring her in ASAP. I have a lot of answers I need from her."

"Looks like you won't be getting them….she's dead."

Matthews, Johnson as well as several other officers were led down into the boiler room of a building by one of the FBI agents. The agent took them through several twists and turns and finally into the back room of the basement.

Already standing inside the room were several agents and they were covering their mouths to keep from breathing in the terrible stench. Matthews steps through the door and immediately his jaw drops. As soon as Johnson peers into the room he backs up slowly and vomits just outside the door. All the other officers look around the room trying to take in the horror.

In the middle of the room is a grill filled with coals and on opposite sides of the room are opposite sides of a once human body being hung up by chains. The chains are connected to a track that runs the width of the room on the ceiling. And lying on the floor in the middle of the room is nothing but intestines and body parts from the inside of the body.

One of the agents attempt to explain what happened. "Both of her shoulders were attached to chains. The chains were attached to separate carts that were on this track up here on the ceiling. She played the tape recorder and I assume she had a set amount of time to reach into these hot coals and find a key or keys to unlock the chains attached to her body. When the time was up, the carts on the track shot out to opposite sides of the wall ripping her body in two."

Johnson, who had walked back into the room, uncovers his mouth to speak. "Oh my God."

But Matthews knows all too well not to be disgusted or horrified by the wrath his killer inflicts. He knows what Jigsaw was capable of…and he assumes this killer is no different. Instead he thinks deep and tries to investigate the scene. "You said you think that is what happened? Why?"

"We found this," the agents lift up a tape recorder, "but there was nothing in it."

Johnson looks up from the body parts on the ground. "Why?"

Matthews walks around the room and kneels down by one side of the body. He notices a jigsaw piece cut out of the skin. "Because this is…was Debra Jenkins. Someone who wasn't close to Jigsaw but the man behind the killer: John Cramer. Something was on that tape. Something personal. Something this copycat doesn't want us to know."

Johnson looks down at Matthews. "So what do we do now?"

Matthews stands up, surveys the room one more time and walks out. "Now we catch this fucker."

About an hour later, the sun has gone down and Matthews, Johnson and several FBI agents and police officers are hard at work trying to catch the killer. Matthews paces back and forth in his office while Jeff just sits in a chair trying to stay out of the way. After several moments, Jeff looks up at Matthews. "Have you spoken with Officer Chester recently? Is Vanessa alright?"

Johnson, who was leaning against the wall, stands up straight and confronts Jeff. "Oh will you shut up already. We are trying to catch a killer here and your daughter has her own personal bodyguard limiting our resources."

Jeff stands up as well. "Excuse me?"

"We are doing the best we can here. You need to just sit down, relax and get out of the way."

The tension between Jeff and Johnson begins to grow and several agents and officers come into the room to try and ease the problem. Matthews just stands next to his desk deep in thought completely oblivious to the scuffle around him. Matthews's concentration is broken when the phone on his desk rings. The detective sits down in his chair and answers the phone. "Hello? Yes, what you got for me."

After several seconds of trying to hear the person on the other end of the line, Matthews finally becomes fed up. "Hold on a sec. Shut up! I'm on the phone! It's the lab."

Everyone in the room stops suddenly and turns to the detective. Matthews then goes back to his conversation. "Sorry, go on."

The investigator on the other end of the line begins to talk again. "We've taken an imprint of the abnormality underneath the blood from the Steven crime scene. It's a message. You ready to write it down?"

Matthews picks up a pen and moves some paper over to him. "Go ahead."

He then begins to write. When he is done he just stares at the message and hangs up the phone. "Thank you."

Daniel stands up out of his chair and just stares down at the message in thought. It says: He had a so.

Jeff walks over to the front of the desk and looks at the focused detective. "What does it mean?"

Matthews just ignores Jeff's question and starts to thread some pieces of information in his mind. He thinks of the missing material from the Cramer file as well as the missing tape from Debra Jenkins's murder. He realizes the connection between the two: personal information. And then he realizes what Steven's message really says and whispers it under his breath. "He had a son."

Jeff doesn't understand and continues to ask questions. "Who? Who had a son?"

The detective continues to ignore the questions asked to him and instead stays deep in thought. He tries to remember the information that was missing from the Cramer file. Someone must have taken it out of the folder while it was in his office. But he thinks out loud. "Who could have had the opportunity to do so?"

He grabs his head trying to think of something, anything at all. And then he's hit by a name: Seth Cramer. The son of Jigsaw. And suddenly, Daniel comes to a realization. A flow of information pours into his head connecting all the dots. He remembers his conversation with Officer Chester outside of Vanessa's dorm room. He remembers when Chester explained how he came across Gary Hummell's crime scene so quickly. He also remembers the things Sam had said when they were talking about their fathers: "I do what I do now because of my father. Let's just say it's his legacy that brought me to this point in my life."

Then he thinks of the names. Sam Chester…Seth Cramer. And Daniel finally realizes the nightmare has come true: he assigned Jigsaw's son as a bodyguard for Jeff's daughter.


	4. Part 4

Saw: Legacy – Part 4

In the car on the way over to Brian's apartment, Jeff sits in the passenger seat continually badgering Matthews for his incompetence. "How could you do this?! You arranged for my daughter to be protected by the very man you are hunting?! What is the matter with you?!"

"I'm sorry, but if he wanted to kill her he would have done it yesterday. We just have to get to them before he can make his move."

"Well fucking drive!"

Daniel immediately regrets letting Jeff come along, but given the mistake he made involving Jeff's daughter he thought he had no choice. The detective's car is followed by several SWAT and FBI vehicles. The caravan rushes through traffic and eventually comes to Brian's apartment.

Matthews gets out and is immediately the first one into the building. Jeff steps out of the car but stands aside as SWAT and FBI tactical teams follow in after the detective.

As Daniel rushes up the stairs his head is filled with thoughts of revenge and anger. He was used and betrayed by the son of the man he holds responsible for his father's death. The only thing going through his mind was an alibi for what he was going to do to Seth Cramer.

Daniel takes a deep breath in and busts through the door. Lying on the ground unconscious in the living room was Brian. Mathews ignores his training to check and see if Brian is still alive and searches the apartment for Cramer. When he realizes they aren't there, Daniel then bends down to Brian and checks his pulse.

The rest of the cops enter into the room and start their sweep of their apartment. Officer Johnson walks in and bends down alongside Matthews. "Is he alive?"

Brian wakes up and shakes his head as he looks around. "Uhhh. What happened?"

Jeff soon walks into the apartment and sees Brian on the ground. "You're Brian, aren't you? Where is Vanessa?"

"Who…who are all these people?"

Matthews tries to take Brian's attention away from Jeff and onto him. "We found you here unconscious. We have reason to believe Officer Chester kidnapped Vanessa. What do you remember?"

"I…Officer Chester was sitting on the couch with Vanessa. I got up to go to the kitchen. I must have been hit on the head because I remember a pain and the next thing I know I'm waking up here."

Jeff turns around in an uproar. "Fuck!"

Johnson tries to calm him down. "Jeff, relax. We need you to calm down."

"Calm down!? Calm down?! You fuckers put my daughter right in the hands of a killer! Where the fuck is my daughter, Matthews!? Huh! Where is she?!"

Johnson and several other officers take Jeff away as Matthews walks deeper into the apartment. All that Daniel can think about is his failure as a detective. He tried to make his father proud, but he failed.

Matthews drops his head in shame when suddenly something catches his eye. After a though clicks in his head, Daniel runs past everyone in the apartment and down the stairs. He then jumps into his car and speeds away.

Johnson sees the detective peeling off down the road through the window and scrunches his brow in confusion. He then slowly walks over to where the detective was standing and sees a note carved in the floor saying. "Old memories die hard, Detective Matthews."

Matthews drives for about half an hour, but to him it seems like an eternity. He's been waiting ten years for some sort of revenge, some sort of payback for what happened to him and his father. And now he will finally get it.

He pulls down an abandoned desolate road in a rundown part of the city. He parks on the side of the street, steps out of the car and looks the house in front of him up and down. The house is covered in tarps and police crime scene tape.

Memories immediately start rushing through his head. Ten years ago he was locked in this house that he thought would be his tomb. Ten years ago he was given a choice of life or death along with several strangers. Ten years ago he was the pawn in a madman's game to kill his father.

Daniel burns from the inside out with thoughts of revenge. After taking a deep breath in, the detective approaches the front door and is about to open it when he stops himself. He remembers Jigsaw's tricks and knew that his son would be just as clever. Instead of heading through the door, Matthews walks around the side of the house and sees a fire escape.

Daniel rips through some police tape and manages to pull the ladder down. As he climbs up into the house he thinks that he has at least ten minutes before the FBI and SWAT teams realize where he is and arrive on the scene. He also thinks that ten minutes is more than enough to take his vengeance.

When Daniel reaches the top of the fire escape he sees the window boarded up. Luckily there was a hammer lying right next to him. Daniel thinks it's no coincidence but picks up the hammer and removes the boards anyway. He then moves inside the house and sees a box hanging from the ceiling.

He immediately remembers the crime scene photos of Addison: the poor girl who bled to death when she reached inside a box holding an antidote to the poison in her body. Daniel pushes the thoughts of her corpse hanging from box to the back of his mind and continues moving through the house.

Daniel checks room after room cautiously sweeping the house. Finally he slowly walks down the stairs and sees the main room of the house. It is covered in caution tape and tarps.

And just as Daniel loses his focus, he hears a creak in the floorboards. He quickly takes cover and luckily dodges a bullet that hits the side of the wall. While still taking cover he yells out to his attacker. "It's over, Seth. Come on out."

Seth yells back from inside a room. "Fuck you!"

"Give it up, Seth. This isn't part of the game. These aren't the rules."

"You know nothing of the rules!"

Seth continues to fire but Daniel jumps over the railing of the stairs and charges into the room Seth is in. He quickly grabs Seth and spins him around. They go wrestling to the ground and Daniel quickly grabs the upper hand. He throws Seth to the ground, but Daniel once again loses his focus on the fight when he notices his surroundings.

He is in the room he woke up in ten years ago. He sees the safe still in the center of the room and next to it is a whole to the sub basement structure. He sticks his head in the hole and sees Vanessa slowly starting to wake up from unconsciousness. Her leg has a chain on it and the chain is attached to a pipe on the wall.

He yells down to her. "Vanessa! Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of here."

But Daniel had lost his focus which opened up a chance for Seth to grab him from behind and pin him to the wall. Seth pulls out a knife and holds it up to Daniel's face alongside the gun in Seth's other hand. "Stop trying to be the cop for once. You don't know shit. You know nothing!"

Daniel quickly opens a hole by kneeing Seth in the stomach and then punching him in the face. The punch sent Seth stumbling back, but while Seth's arms flail around he manages to slice across Detective Matthew's ribs with the knife.

As Daniel drops to the floor from the sudden pain, Seth trips and falls down through the hole in the ground to the basement. Daniel's cut isn't deep, so he tries to pull himself together when suddenly he hears Seth yelling from down inside the basement structure. "You fucking bitch! You fucking whore!"

All he hears then is Vanessa's screams silenced by a single gunshot.

Outside the house, FBI and SWAT forces arm themselves and prepare to enter the building. Johnson briefs the two teams and they take positions in relation to the front door. The FBI and SWAT team leaders give the signal and the point men for both groups open the front door slowly to peek inside.

As soon as they turn the handle and push in, a wire trips a booby trap and sets off a bomb that instantly incinerates all of the men standing in the doorway.

After hearing the gunshot, Detective Matthews freezes in his tracks. For a moment his heart drops into his stomach because he knows he failed. He let Jeff's daughter die just as he feels he let his father die and now nothing will ever bring them back.

But the terrible feeling soon vanishes and is replaced by total hatred and anger. Daniel bites his teeth and pushes the pain out of his mind as he stands up and limps over to the hole in the ground. Blood drips from his ribs and the injured detective puts his hand on the wound to try and stop the bleeding.

When Matthews gets to the hole he stands over it and looks down. He sees Vanessa face down on the ground with the chain still attached to her leg. When Seth hears Matthew's walking above him he looks up and sees the detective standing over him.

The two cops stare at each other and each one is both emotionless and speechless. But their concentration and focus are broken when an explosion from the front door rocks the house. The blast sends flames all throughout the weak structure of the building and the boards from the ground above them break and drop down on top of Daniel.

Using quick instincts, the detective jumps down the hole and tries to avoid the rubble and debris dropping down on top of him. Unfortunately he lands on the wrong side of his legs breaking both of them instantly.

Seth, still stunned in place even during the blast, doesn't move or make any motion as the concrete and rubble drops down on top of him. Dust, dirt and filth fill the air making it impossible to see. When the dust settles and the air clears Daniel lifts his head up and coughs trying to catch his breath.

He lies on his back and looks down at his legs. Both of his kneecaps are punctured through the skin. He instantly knows he isn't standing up or moving anywhere far for that matter. But he doesn't care. He is right next to Seth and vengeance still fills his mind, his heart and his soul.

His face is covered in grime and dirt but he doesn't even wipe the blood from his eyes. Instead he rolls over onto his stomach and crawls his way towards Seth. On the way he reaches for and grabs Seth's knife that was dropped during the explosion. He then crawls and pulls his limp body over to Seth.

Seth however isn't as fortunate as Daniel. The debris that dropped down from the blast hit his body and pinned him to the ground. A chunk of concrete pierced his ribbed and he is unable to move. All he can do is struggle for air and stare up at the hole in the basement ceiling which is now blocked from the debris of the explosion.

Seth's face is covered in scrapes and mud. Blood drips down from his forehead and into his mouth as he continues to fight for every breath.

Daniel crawls his way over to the helpless Seth and flops down on top of his body. Daniel then pushes himself up and leans on his hip as he lifts up the knife with both hands.

Right before Daniel is about to thrust the knife down, him and Seth lock eyes for a moment, just a moment. But in that moment time stops for the two men. They feel a connection that is over whelmed by Daniel's hatred and anger. Whatever Seth was feeling in that instant didn't matter because he was about to die and he knew it.

And then…Daniel thrusts the knife down into Seth's stomach as he lets out a scream of rage. Seth tries to shriek from the pain but instead all he does is cough up blood and lets out a gasp. Daniel then lifts up the knife and stabs Seth again and again until all the energy is extinguished from his muscles and the detective can't lift up the blade any longer.

Daniel's body then flops to the ground from exhaustion. He just leans up on his arm to look into Seth's eyes as he dies.

But then, with the last spec of life left in him, Seth mutters his final words. "I…just wanted…to live."

Seth reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tape recorder. Seth's soul leaves his body as the tape recorder falls out of his limp hand and hits the ground.

In a look of confusion, Daniel reaches over, grabs the tape recorder and hits play. "Hello, Sam…or should I call you by the name you have decided to run from all your life…Seth Cramer. Instead of embracing the legacy of your father, you have decided to run from it and hide. You became a cop to try and stop devils like you believed your father to be, but were you aware of the angel within him? No, of course not. You never even gave him the chance. But I will give you the chance to feel, to know, and to play the role your father once had. I am giving you the chance to be reborn, Seth.

"As this tape plays, the police are on their way to the warehouse you have woken up in. They believe you to have kidnapped the girl chained to the wall in the basement and will stop at nothing to bring you down. You must not allow the girl to leave and if you do that long enough I will reveal myself to you. Only then will you receive the antidote to the slow acting poison coursing through your veins. But you have to remember the rules…."

Daniel hits the stop button while in complete shock and horror. He looks around in disbelief when slowly the rubble and debris starts to move from behind him. Out from underneath the wreckage appears Vanessa. Her shirt is ripped which reveals the bulletproof vest underneath it.

As she stands up, Vanessa moves her head back and forth cracking her neck and then looks down at Detective Matthews. Daniel looks up at Vanessa in awe. The girl just stares back down at him as she stands tall and proud. "You have failed your game, Detective Matthews."

"W…why?"

"You would understand if you had succeeded but unfortunately for you…its game over."

Vanessa turns and then walks into the darkness of the basement leaving Daniel helplessly screaming and bleeding to death next to the man he murdered in cold blood.


End file.
